First off, I would like to thank everyone that participated in February's NEXT fest. I got some really helpful feedback about what was working and what aspects of the game, and UI, could use a bit of tuning. This will be an ongoing process - I am learning as I go - but I will continue to work at it! Looking forward, the April 20th release date I had been aiming for still looks valid! I'll keep working on adding content and polishing stuff; there will be around another 30-40k words over what was in the NEXT fest by launch. So, you know, a short novel. And of course, the 20th is just the start; I will continue updating the game long into the future. A few more years anyways, I'm not sure exactly how long it'll take to finish the planned content and what else will show up in the meantime. I intend to solicit opinions on release cadence and update progress reports after release, to find out what you guys want to see and what I can commit to. Gotta take this seriously, and that means a minimum of tomfoolery on my end.

[ 2023-04-13 22:35:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Unravel the secrets of a fading world as you investigate four missing goddesses and an impending cosmic threat in a fantasy adventure. Fight, fuck, and offer extensive therapy to a wide variety of cute girls, both human and monstrous. Decide whether gaining power and becoming closer to otherworldly beings is worth trading away parts of your humanity.

Divine Dawn allows you to step into the role of a young man with dreams of heroism, customizing your character with a huge variety of abilities, traits, weapons, and elements. While your character has goals and a personality of his own, you can shape how they handle situations; allies will remember and reference many of your choices, and some can significantly affect your character's development. It's up to you to decide exactly what being a hero actually means, and what kind of impact you leave on the world.

Weapons and elements have unique movesets, lending themselves to different styles of play. Hydromancy offers healing, support, and good damage with high-pressure water, while its sister school Cryomancy freezes and bleeds foes. Shortbows excel at quick attacks, inflicting a wide variety of debuffs and statuses, while Greataxes use your own vitality to fuel berserker rampages dealing ruinous damage.

Each party member has their own problems and aspirations, strengths and weaknesses. They're people, sharing some of the same struggles as your character. Some have it together better than others, but most could use a shoulder to lean on and someone to talk to. Relationships can bloom in unexpected circumstances, and friends-with-benefits can become something more. Earning their trust and blossoming affection will reveal new aspects to characters you thought you understood, and potentially benefit them in combat as well as they master new abilities.

Allies can also teach you new martial arts or types of magic, including otherworldly Aether and Nether magic. The Nether is a realm of emotion and feeling, an avenue to improve empathy, while the Aether is a stark understanding of fundamental concepts and raw willpower.